Arik Air Unmasked as B737 Customer

Private Nigerian operator Arik Air confirmed here it is a previously unidentified customer for seven Boeing 737-800s that will bring its fleet to 17 aircraft, of which three will be longer -900 variants. Arik Air also has on order five Boeing 777-300ERs and seven 787-9s (for which deliveries are being renegotiated to a later date than the previously agreed 2013).

The carrier has modified a recently announced plan to become the second Boeing 747-8I passenger aircraft customer (after Lufthansa) by increasing its requirement from three to four machines, which are understood to be at the “proposal acceptance” stage. The African airline plans services to the UK and U.S. to supplement its current network of 14 domestic routes with 18 aircraft.